Satellite TV, Dish Network Packages and Dish TV Deals

Satellite TV is one of the most popular forms of entertainment these days. Most of us get a direct satellite TV connection and don’t know the extent of technicalities which are involved in making the TV channels available for us. The satellite TV connections are extremely technical and complex equipments which use the technology of radio signals being transmitted through the satellite uplink station. Imagine how complex the system of satellite TV is; we first need a satellite which is moving in the space and then need a streamline connection of that satellite with our dish (which is basically a receiving unit of the information and TV channels being transmitted through the satellite) and last of all each individual needs to have a black box which is the final receiver that connects all that information to our individual TV sets.

It is surprising to note that the commercial satellite TV programs have been in existence since the early 1990s and these days there are very few homes across the globe which does not have access to the satellite TVs. For most of the developed countries satellite TV is more of a necessity rather than a luxury.

The satellite TV works through the use of radio signals which are transmitted through a wireless system to be delivered to the viewers’ homes. One of the things that often become a hindrance in the functionality of the Satellite TV is the fact that the radio signals are capable of travelling only in a straight line.

For the perfect functionality of the satellite transmissions, the satellite is always placed right above the Earth and that way it is made to match the earth’s rotational speed and directly receive the data by using straight line of transmission of radio signals. Once the satellite receives the data it then transmits the data back to earth and then is when we need the Dish to be able to receive the frequency of data being transmitted. Once the dish receives the data it then transmits the data to individual homes through the use of coaxial cables from the dish to the TV.

The data that is transmitted by the satellite is sent in a compressed format. Earlier the satellites could send only 30 channels because the data was not compressed however after the compression technology was put to practice, it enable the transmission of 200 channels simultaneously. A smart use of technology is that the entire data being transmitted goes through a scrambled format so that only the users who have paid for the service are given the code to be able to decode the data being transmitted. The function of receiving and decoding the data is done by the satellite receiver which is more commonly known as the black box. It is the black box which is also responsible for decoding and separately displaying the different channels which are transmitted together through the satellite transmission. Last but not the least the black box is responsible for collecting the information on the “Pay per View” usage; after which it transmits that information to the provider of the services.

Satellite TV is a lot similar to broadcast TV since both are wireless system that uses radio signal in transmitting television programming straight to the homes of its viewers. However, we are going to illustrate some disparity of the two systems.

Broadcast TV uses antenna in transmitting the radio waves and viewers catches the signal using smaller antenna. The limitation of this system is its limited signal range; you have to be close to the broadcast antenna in order to get a clear signal.

Moreover, the transmission of the radio signals in a broadcast television is a straight line. This is not a problem as long as the obstacles from the broadcast antenna to home antennas are only small such as trees and small buildings. The problem arises when the obstacle is huge such as the Earth itself because it will reflect the radio waves. If the Earth is perfectly flat, you could pick up signals miles from its source but our planet is curve and the signal will eventually break.

Having a Satellite TV solves this problem since broadcast signals are transmitted from satellites orbiting around the planet thus many subscribers are in the line of sight. Satellite TV uses a specialized satellite dishes to transmit and receive radio waves.

In the early nineties, when satellite TV initially hits the market, home dishes were larger and expensive. It was harder to get compared to broadcast TV or cable TV. However, today you can see compact satellite dishes on the rooftops of many homes in United States especially in areas where cable companies hasn’t reached yet. Satellite TV companies lured consumers by promising plenty of movies, news and sporting events every day. They also promise a good quality picture and sound.

Although Satellite TV system is quite new and still evolving, it has become the popular choice for many viewers not only in the US but around the world.